


Flashbang

by unklarity



Category: Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-14
Updated: 2015-07-14
Packaged: 2018-04-09 07:14:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,269
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4338956
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/unklarity/pseuds/unklarity
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"This one is for the pretty lady with my bra."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Flashbang

“Does she always do that?” The man next to her, Cullen or something from one of her classes, asks her, a perplexed expression on his face. Cassandra barely turns to him, eyes still on the stage as a pair of lacy black underwear flies into the audience. She simply nods. “Thank the Maker,” she whispers under her breath, and when he says he didn’t hear her she tells him it wasn’t important. 

She always does it. Not every show that Cassandra’s seen, but certainly most of them. It started about a year ago when she’d first become roommates with Leliana and been introduced to Dorian Pavus, who, according to the redhead, was “a wicked musician!” Dorian had been polite, diabolically charming, and an absolutely disastrous drunk, as she’d found out after a night out with him and Leliana. That had led, of course, to a promise to take Cassandra to one of his shows, and a CD tossed at her head across the living room coffee table. 

The CD wasn’t bad. There was more than one singer, but the main one was a girl, and her voice was nice enough, if a little rough around the edges. She’d listened to it a few times before agreeing to accompany Leliana to a show at Red Jenny’s, the club a few blocks from campus. Cassandra should have known in hindsight, that it was a bad idea. She always did tend to fall hard.

“This place is…”

“Charming?”

Cassandra cringes, the corners of her mouth turning downward. “That’s not the word I would use.”

Grungy was more appropriate, with the dim lighting and the squeaky chairs and the sticky bar. Just, ugh. She just wants to go home already, but she’d promised to come and hear Dorian play. Plus, she’s got to admit, she’s interested in seeing the rest of the band. The sticky bar is something she’ll have to get past.

A few minutes later the lights somehow get even dimmer and Leliana grabs her hand, winding their way through the quickly accumulating crowd to a spot directly in front of the stage. A small blonde girl is perched right on top of one of the amps, fiddling with one of the cords, a string of expletives coming out of her mouth. When she finally seems satisfied she stands up, pushing her hair out of her face and trying to adjust the microphone stand. “What’s up Motherfuckers?” She screams into the crowd, standing on her tiptoes to reach the mic. “Dor, lower this shit for me. I swear, you do this on purpose.” Everyone around her is roaring, clapping and screaming and the girl smiles, putting a hand over her eyes and looking out. “Is everyone excited?” When she receives a resounding “yes,” she laughs, a low sound nothing like her speaking voice, and runs over to the drummer, a gigantic qunari with a patch over his eye, and sits on his lap, squirming to reach the microphone near him. “Well, we might as well start then! You guys know Red Jenny is my favorite venue, and not just cuz I used to work here.” The crowd erupts in a chorus of screams, so she continues. “So you assholes better ROCK THE FUCK OUT!" 

The drummer laughs, lifting her off of him and patting her head. She glares at him, returning to her spot, where Dorian has finished adjusting the stand. Cassandra looks over at him, catching his eye, and he breaks into a wry smile. 

Dorian starts playing very quietly, with the addition of a very light drumming behind him. The girl finds her way to the mic again, closing her eyes and humming. "My name is Sera,” she says, much quieter than before, “we’re Wildcard, and this,” she rips her gloves off, bending down and looking Cassandra straight in the eye, “this is a song about a witch.”

Cassandra had figured she was the singer somewhere in the back of her head, but she hadn’t associated her with the voice she’d heard on the record. She is so small but her voice is deep and grainy, her hair in front of her eyes as she darts from one side of the small stage to the other. Not breaking eye contact, Sera continues singing, stomping one foot against the stage with the beat of the music. The more she sings, the better she sounds, slowly getting louder and more passionate. Cassandra has to look away for a moment when Leliana tugs on her shirt, whispering in her ear that she’s going to get a drink. Her friend gives her a knowing smile and slips out of sight into the crowd, leaving Cassandra by herself. 

When she looks back to the stage everything has gotten relatively quiet, Dorian still playing and the drummer still drumming, but Sera is only humming to the music, back at the front of the stage and pushing her hair from her face. “Balls, it is hot as hell in here,” she mumbles into the microphone, earning a laugh from the audience. “Bull bet me ten dollars I wouldn’t take off my shirt and I really don’t want to lose…” A roar erupts from around her and Sera laughs, crossing her arms behind her back. She crouches down at the very edge of the stage, right in front of Cassandra, wiggling her arms for a moment. “He never said anything about my bra,” she says, barely loud enough to hear, and smirks, pulling lacy black bra from under her shirt and tossing it at Cassandra, who turns bright red the second it touches her skin. 

“You keep that for now. I’ll come get it later,” Sera mumbles into the mic once she’s standing again, and Cassandra blinks, dumbfounded, her fingers grasped so tightly around the fabric that her knuckles have gone white. “And now that this lovely lady has relieved me of my problem I think I’m ready to keep going.” She winks at Cassandra one more time before whipping around and shouting, “I wanna sing with Dooorian!" 

As the audience lets out another chorus of screams, Leliana reappears at her side, a drink in each hand. She looks Cassandra up and down, a mischievous smile materializing on her face. "I see you have been busy,” she whispers into Cassandra’s ear, handing her a drink and waving to Dorian on stage, who has now moved to the front. He and Sera start to sing again, another song she recognizes well from the album, although Dorian does seem to enjoy changing words around…not that she is paying much attention to Dorian. She is watching Sera jump across the stage, starting at the back and moving up, song ending with her laying on the stage on her back, looking out at the crowd upside-down, her chest heaving. Cassandra tears her eyes away, looking at her roommate with an indignant glare. “It’s your fault for leaving me here alone.” Leliana nods, covering her mouth in an exaggerated gasp, eyes traveling to the bra clutched in Cassandra’s hands. “Oh, what an awful friend I am, letting gorgeous women throw their underwear at you!”

Cassandra’s face heats up again. “You saw that?”

“I certainly did. If it helps, it’s too dark in here to tell you’re blushing.” Cassandra snorts, looking down at the drink she’s been given and downing more of it than she should at once. “It does help, actually,” she responds, looking back to the stage where everything has gotten quiet again. Dorian helps Sera to her feet, and she stretches, twisting her body back and forth, before placing the mic back in the stand and clearing her throat again. “Alright assholes, we’re gonna do one more and then I need a fucking break so Maeve is gonna take over. So you bitches better dance because this one is my favorite!" 

The drummer chuckles, speaking into his microphone, "I don’t know Sera, I don’t think anything’s gonna top you taking your bra off.” Sera scowls at him, sticking her tongue out. “Oh shut up Bull, or I’ll just take my shirt off.” The audience cheers. “But you can’t,” he replies, “think of your reputation!" 

There is a pause for a moment before both of them break out in laughter. Dorian rolls his eyes, simply starting to play instead of bothering to say anything. The other two catch on after a second, and Sera pulls the mic off the stand, taking a seat at the edge of the stage. "This one is for the pretty lady with my bra,” she says, voice almost a sigh, fluttering her eyelashes comically before starting to sing. Cassandra can’t look away. It starts out as a slow song, but gains momentum until the small woman is shouting and slamming her hand on the edge of the stage to punctuate every word. Eventually the song slows down again before it ends, her voice getting softer, lighter, until it eventually stops. “Thanks,” she whispers in response to the applause and screams of the audience, looking bashful for the first time, ducking her head and running a hand through her hair. “I’d like to introduce Maevaris Tilani, who’s gonna sing some more for you,” she continues, and the crowd erupts again. A tall blonde woman steps onto the stage, Dorian assisting her, and approaches Sera at the front. She bends down and kisses the shorter girl on the cheek, whispering something in her ear to which Sera smiles. “Fuck them up, Maeve,” she shouts before leaving the stage, pulling up the curtain and disappearing behind it. 

Cassandra looks down at her drink, noticing it’s empty, and looks at Leliana, who’s still got an infuriating smile on her face. “Can I just go get another drink?” Leliana nods, grabbing her hand and weaving them through the mass of people with expertise. When they reach the bar, she’s thankful that it’s dark and no one can see the bra she’s carrying in her other hand. She orders an old-fashioned (to which Leliana giggles again) and a glass of beer for the redhead, before sitting down at a table near the bar to enjoy the music from more of a distance. A waitress brings their drinks and Cassandra takes a sip, watching the people around her. Leliana is taking pictures with her phone, probably posting them on every social network available, and the rest of the people near the bar are either chatting or drinking. It’s much less crowded back here, and Cassandra is thankful for that. 

As she sets her drink down, she feels a presence at her back, and she turns around, expecting just a person passing by; instead, she sees a shock of blonde hair and a brilliant smile. “Hello, Lily,” Sera says to Leliana, waving excitedly across the table, before looking Cassandra up and down with a wolfish grin. The girl steps closer, one hand on the table and leans in toward her, their cheeks almost touching. “So how did you like it?” She slings her free arm across Cassandra’s shoulder, playing with the hair at the nape of her neck. Cassandra shivers slightly, as Sera’s skin slides across hers, thinking about the bra she has in her hands. “Dorian says you’re a tough customer." 

Leliana laughs at that, electing to speak since her friend’s voice seems to have deserted her. "Dorian likes to exaggerate, my dear. But I think Cassandra enjoyed your set.” The blonde giggles, hooking a chair with her foot and dragging it to the table. She lets go of Cassandra and sits down on the side closest to the bar, and one of the bartenders brings her a drink. “Thanks babe,” she shouts at him through the noise, and then turns back to her new, slightly smaller audience. “Cassandra,” she drawls, voice somehow audible over everyone else’s. “Very pretty name, yeah?” She stretches out her hand, a grin on her face. “It’s nice to meet you, officially. I’ve heard all about you from Mr. Mustache up there, but I like the real thing much better." 

She’s not really sure what to do, so she nods dumbly, red coloring her cheeks slightly, and takes Sera’s hand. "Thank you,” she manages to get out, pushing the bra towards the smaller woman. “Here, take this.”

“Aww are you worried about my titties? What a cutie, yeah.” Cassandra is silent, not really sure what she should say, but unable to close her mouth. “Well that or you don’t feel like holding it anymore, and well I guess I understand that. Maybe Bull wants to wear it as a hat again? Let’s go ask him!” She grabs Cassandra’s wrist, leaving Leliana at the table, and heads toward the stage, the hand with the bra in the air, waving it like a flag. A black, lacy flag.

They come to the stage door and Sera stops, spinning them until Cassandra is in front of her, back against the wood. “I love performing here! What was your favorite part?” she asks, pushing her body against the taller woman’s, a fit of giggles escaping her. Cassandra’s eyes widen, and she concentrates on trying to breathe properly. Without letting her answer, Sera continues, “Do you wanna know my favorite part? My favorite part was watching you. It was funny, yeah? And kinda hot. Mostly that second one.” She takes Cassandra’s hands and places them on her waist, leaning forward again and pressing their lips together.

For just a moment, before she loses any and all sense of space and time, Cassandra thinks to herself, _maker, what have I gotten myself into?_


End file.
